10th Anniversary of Silom Community Clinic @TropMed

Silom Community Clinic @TropMed is designed to be an LGBT-friendly clinic where men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender women, can participate in research to advance our knowledge and tools to protect people against HIV. Established in 2005, the Silom Community Clinic @TropMed aims to be a model for the integration of HIV prevention research and services for MSM and transgender women.

Since the opening date (30 September 2005) nearly 10 years ago, 10,250 unique clients have made nearly 40,000 clinic visits. We close our doors only a few days per year during Songkran and Christmas/New Year’s.

Since its inception, Silom Community Clinic @TropMed has been committed to helping those living with HIV/AIDS as well. As of June 2015, we have served a total of 3,725 persons living with HIV (PLWH). Of these, nearly 1,200 are currently on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, and more than 2,500 persons are currently utilizing our case management system and following up in our clinic.

The Bangkok MSM Cohort Study (started in 2006) has followed 1,744 MSM in Bangkok for 5 years to assess prevalence, incidence, risk behaviors, follow-up rates, and willingness to participate in biomedical trials. Our clinic is one of the largest sites in the world to serve a predominately MSM and transgender women population, and have such a loyal participant population. The final participant follow-up visit will occur this November, and we are looking for new ways to monitor health issues among MSM and transgender women.

Silom Community Clinic @TropMed was approved in 2010 as a site for NIH-supported HIV Prevention Trials. Our first clinical trial study was completed last year (2014), investigating adherence, coverage and behavioral use of non-daily PrEP to prevent HIV infection among MSM. We are eagerly awaiting results of this study, to be released in mid-July 2015, at the International AIDS Society (IAS) meeting in Canada. Silom Community Clinic @TropMed was also a site for an important study with the Microbicide Trial Network looking at the safety and acceptability of a rectal tenofovir gel in MSM and transgender women. The data, expected to be released in late 2015 or early 2016, will be essential to inform and hopefully improve the HIV prevention toolbox for these key populations.

We look forward to the next 10 years of productive service to the community, and the generation of useful data that can be translated into practice, and help us drive new HIV infections to zero.

Messages from the Chairperson of Men with sexual diversity Community Advisory Board (M-CAB)

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the collaboration between the Silom Community Clinic @TropMed and the Men with sexual diversity Community Advisory Board (M-CAB), as the representative of this board I would like to share the community’s happiness and gratitude that the clinic has been given full attention of the US CDC and the Thailand MOPH, and has supported community participation since the date this clinic was started. With this collaboration, the community has learned a great deal, and increased our capacity in caring for ourselves and in being able to participate in HIV prevention study trials. Moreover, the work focused here helps the community have a platform to learn and work together for the benefit of the community as a whole, not just benefitting one particular organization. This collaboration has increased our effectiveness, because in this world no one organization has enough resources to devote to the betterment of a single group, we all have a responsibility to contribute to the improved outcomes of everyone. The community greatly hopes that this great collaboration will continue long into the future.